A time for reflection is how one imam from South Woodford said it would be commemorated in his mosque yesterday.

Dr Mohammed Fahim, of South Woodford Mosque, Mulberry Way, said some Muslims do not celebrate the occasion as it is regarded as a religious innovation.

Dr Fahim said: “There are Muslims who do and who don’t celebrate it, but what do we mean by celebration?

“We mean to emulate his lifestyle and his traditions and the work he has been doing, not drinking, dancing and singing.”

It is believed the Prophet Mohammed was born in 570AD in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and was the final prophet from God. Previous prophets include Jesus and Moses.

Dr Fahim said: “Mohammed was the final messenger in Islam. He was like any prophet, not better or below the others. We don’t make any distinctions between the prophets and this means we celebrate Jesus as well.”

Forty years after Mohammed was born, Muslims believe he received his first revelation from God.

It was another three years before he started to teach these revelations in public.

He taught people to surrender – or Islam in Arabic – to God and that he, together with the other Islamic prophets such as Adam, Noah and Moses, were messengers of God.

“He could not read or write so he relied on scribes and he would dictate it to them and they would write it down,” Dr Fahim said. “Other people would memorise it as well.

“When he died all these writings were collected and put together into one book. This was then checked by the people who had memorised it.”